Never forgotten
by Rebecca-Anne M
Summary: AU,Ron dies in the final battle.Hermione can't stand losing her eternal love and decides to join him..


She just couldn't stand it. She couldn't admit it to herself. Ron was dead. She couldn't get it out of her head. She could barely face it. She had no more tears to cry. She had lost count of the months that passed since he was gone. The count of the months she spent crying in vain for her love that was never coming back. She hoped he was somewhere safe, somewhere away from that merciless world.  
Regrets overwhelmed her every time she went to his grave. She wasn't there to kiss him goodbye on his sweet lips. She just remembered running down the long hall to the hospital wing, bitter tears running down her ,she saw Ron lying motionless on the hospital bed, the last trace of life gone from his deep light blue eyes. She just remembered Harry clutching her in his arms and whispering "It's gonna be ok ,Hermione, it's gonna be ok" .  
But it wasn't ok at all.  
She was walking through her empty apartment as thoughts flooded her head. She reached the small living room and fell to the rocking chair.  
She took a look into the old mirror hung on the wall. She couldn't see Hermione Granger anymore. In front of her,there stood a bushy haired pale woman she could not recognise. Makeup was leaking in thin trails along her face: she had been crying again for hours. The color was all drained from her once light pink cheeks. She burst into tears again, turning her back to the mirror. She grabbed a quill and quickly wrote.

'Harry, thank you so much for all the moral support .I don't know if I could have stood it without you. Ginny,thank you too. I know he was your brother and you suffered as much as I did. Please take care of Crookshanks and tell everyone I did love them . Hermione.'

She grabbed her wand from the table and got out of the flat,slamming the door behind her. She knew exactly where she was heading to. She walked down a long narrow street and when she reached the end of it, Disapparated. When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in the snow in front of the enormous Hogwarts. She rose from the ground and took the snow flakes off her sheer dress. It was winter, the middle of December , but she didn't feel the cold, the pain in her soul covered it up. She was back to Hogwarts after all those years. But she did not head to the wooden gates as usual. She looked towards the big lake, covered by a thin layer of frost

.  
Flashback  
"Ronald, how many times do I have to tell you that food is one of the 5 exception that can't be transfigured?" she said correcting his Transfiguration essay half amused, half mad on him.  
"I'm sorry ,'Mione ,I simply forget it." answered the tall read-headed boy.  
He smiled, that foolish smile of his that made her laugh. He sat down in front of the lake and she sat down next to him, gently putting her head on his shoulder. He put a hand around her waist and they remained looking at the sunset reflected in the water.  
"By the way" she said as the sun was going down" your essay was horrible, but now, there are no mistakes anymore"  
"You know I love you" Ron said kissing her on the cheek and grabbing the paper she handed to him.

The memory slowly faded away, as she walked towards the water. Time could not erase all the remembrances in her mind.  
She thought of everyone, as she took off her shoes and placed them on the lily-white snow. Harry had become a principal at had married Harry and become an Auror. Luna had married Neville and become a Divination teacher. Cho became famous after marrying Viktor Krum. George had finally gotten past Fred's death. He had reopened the shop on Diagon Alley by himself. She, Hermione Jean Granger, was nothing but a lost soul in the world: her parents died, tortured by Death Eaters. Ron, her eternal love died too in the final battle. She had no reason to live had given up all her ambitions and toughts.  
She stepped on the thin ice covering the lake. She was light as a feather-the covering wouldn't break down that easily-. She got the wand out of the pocket of the dress. She felt it for the last time in her frail hands. She smiled and pointed the tip of the wand to the ice beneath her.  
"Diffindo" she whispered.  
The layer of frost cracked and all of a sudden she fell in the cold water. She took her last deep breath and sank in the lake. She did not feel her body anymore, she uselessly tried to move her hands. She realized she had dropped her wand when going into the water. There was no agony, there was no pain. She couldn't see the daylight anymore, it was all dark around her. She felt a deep pain in her chest and closed her eyes.  
_Deaf silence. She walked along a lonely road,heading towards the bright light .She let out a gasp at the sight of Ron's familiar face. She dropped to her knees in front of him and started crying. He put a protective hand on her back and she rose up. He looked into her hazel eyes, full of tears. She tried to touch him, but she couldn't.  
_Harry ran out of the castle, his robe flying behind him in the frozen wind. He had been warned by a 6th year prefect that someone was outside ,in the lake. He ran as fast as he could and picked up the wand lying on the ice. He recognized it and instantly dived in the lake. 'Hermione' he thought horrified, seeing the pale face of the drowned woman. He grabbed her hand and pointed the wand to the surface of the water.  
_"Ron.." she said, her voice trembling.  
"Hermione, you have to leave…you can't end up like this. Live your life, forget me and..-  
"What don't you get it, damn it? You are my life! I can't go back there!" Hermione bellowed.  
She burst into tears again. He looked up into the infinite and then at Hermione. He sighed and said:  
"It's your choice, 'Mione. You choose to stay or you choose to live."  
He had a peaceful smile that made her feel calm inside. She did not feel the pain in her chest anymore: seeing him made all the pain go away.  
"I choose to stay." she said with the most sincere smile on her face. She looked relieved, after all she had gone through. Light surrounded her and she became part of the light. Hermione threw herself in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and said in a weak voice.  
"I love you"  
"I love you too" came his answer.  
_Harry got her body out of the lake. 'Please, Hermione, please wake up' he thought desperately, looking at her pale face. She wasn't breathing anymore and he could not feel her pulse. His lips touched hers,breathing air into her lungs, hoping for her to wake up . But she wouldn't wake up anymore….  
Two days later, Ron and Hermione watched her funeral from above the clouds. It was a sorrowful grey afternoon,rain falling heavily on the ground and in everyone's hearts. They could see from between the angels the sad faces of Ginny, Harry, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Luna, Neville and all of their friends mourning over her grave. The tomb stone said:

**Hermione Jean Granger  
19 September 1979 – 15 December 2000  
Beloved daughter, friend, student. May her soul rest in peace.  
She will never be forgotten**…


End file.
